Letters to the Editor May 13, 2011

McArthur doesn’t understand role of being a representative

When I first read Donald McArthur’s Coastal Voices piece I thought, “Another self-important, small-town politician who is minimizing the problems actually to be faced, lives in an idealogical fantasy world and has no real answers.”

Mr. McArthur begins his piece with a combination of hand-wringing platitudes about how wonderful things would be if only Californians, meaning Republican lawmakers, would truly appreciate the importance of a good public school education and therefore fund it. In the process he supports his argument with a flurry of GDP numbers all the while minimizing the true nature of the problem. Currently California doesn’t have $29 billion to cover the deficit and must by law find a way of doing something about it.

Mr. McArthur clearly does not understand the role of being a
representative. It is his job as one of our school board members to
solve the current financial crisis that the Del Norte County schools are
facing. He should not be looking for the easy out of encouraging young
students to carry his water. State-level representatives in the same
vein should not be asking voters to give them similar cover.

Education in California currently spends 40 percent of the state’s
annual budget. Consequently, in lean times education is going to take
the biggest financial hit. There should be no surprise in this. Recent
polls confirm that Californians think education is important. The
problem being that those same polls show that they also do not wish to
continue with the three shortly to expire revenue sources.

Instead of looking for workable and resourceful solutions to this
imminent financial loss, Mr. McArthur is fomenting youthful rebellion
and federal funding of education in the form of crop subsidies, like
that will ever happen. All the while he is name-dropping and sprinkling
tired, worn-out clichés that have taken over the debate in hopes of
intimidating our representatives at the state level into doing what he
wants to see happen.

Maybe our state representatives will succeed in finding that elusive
additional revenue, but I for one would like to see an end to all the
name-calling, hand-wringing and fantasy proposals. California has a $29
billion hole to fill and Mr. McArthur’s ramblings have done nothing to
fill that hole. I see no real ideas and no resourcefulness. It might be
time for Mr. McArthur to reexamine his role as a school board member.

Samuel Strait

Crescent City

Thanks to Mormon Church group for cleaning cemetery

I would like to thank the Mormon Church group that came out to the
cemetery to help clean up and mow and weed-eat the area.

They donated their time, gas and equipment and did an excellent job,
and the cemetery looks great. Again I cannot thank each and every one
enough.

Rick Sherman

I.O.O.F. Cemetery

Crescent City

Thanks to those who’ve shown support for Nuss family, shop

Don and I would like to thank all of you who have supported us in
word and deed while Don was going through his trial and incarceration at
SeaTac Federal Detention Center in Seattle for the last 14 months, and
during the years before. Thanks to his friend Spud who went to San
Francisco many times as support; Spud’s wife Liz, who called me every
week; to our boys Don and Clark for keeping the house and yard going;
and to Scott Norris for keeping the shop open.

Thank you for all the letters in Don’s behalf before the trial and
those who wrote to him and sent him pictures and other things while he
was there, and thank you to those who called me and helped me get to the
store and invited me to things and left me cookies and fruit on my
doorstep. Thanks to my close neighbors and friends Marilynn and Bob
Ladendorff and Bev Wier for checking on me and seeing I was OK, going to
the store when needed, taking me to lunch every day at the Senior
Center with you and inviting me to birthdays and other occasions. I will
never forget your kindness to both Don and myself during this time.

You never think something like this will happen to you at this time
of your life, but we have survived it with your help and we thank you
for not forgetting us and for coming back into the shop to get work done
or to just say hello. You all know who you are and thank you so much.

Sandy and Don Nuss and family

Redwood Welding

Crescent City

McArthur offers simplistic view of education funding problems

I do agree with Donald McArthur on the importance of education for
our children. Isn’t it ironic that we spend $50,000 a year to keep a
person in prison, but only $700 in our district to educate a student?
However, what a disappointment to have one of our new school board
members express such a simplistic political statement about the cause of
the lack of funding. No political party, or candidate, is all perfect,
or all blameful. For the record, our Legislature has not been controlled
by the Republicans for years; they have been in the minority.

Funding comes from taxation; taxation comes from the people. Only
about 40% of our people pay taxes, so they bear the brunt. Due to
excessive regulations and taxes, businesses continue to leave the state,
causing a loss of revenue and employment. Please look to the tremendous
bureaucracy we have! Look online for State of California. What about
the many entitlements that obliterate the encouragement to work and
improve oneself? I recently thought of this when I observed a family
that has easily cost welfare millions: the parents were leaving the
casino.

I was present at the Town Hall Meeting of our state senator, Doug La
Malfa. Anyone could ask questions, first by writing the questions on a
card and giving it to the reader. At the end, questions were taken from
the floor. Why didn’t Mr. McArthur ask a question?

Why make personal attacks on the senator when most of us do not have
the personal business information on the man during the last 15 years? A
half truth is worse than a lie.

To involve students in political party accusations is irresponsible
and unprofessional. We do not want to “rechristen” our students since
many/most of our students have not been “christened” (baptized) and
religious preference is personal and should not be imposed on anyone.

So disappointed,

Calie Martin

Crescent City

Killing bin Laden wasn’t murder; it sent a powerful message

I was wondering how long it would be before someone said, “we must be
fair.” There should be no “revenge” and the word “murder” to be bandied
about.

After spending several years in two different Muslim countries, I
know most Muslims to be decent people who just want to live their lives
and go about their business. However, the Islamic radicals want us dead
along with all other non-Muslim people. The only thing the radical
element respects is force. You cannot negotiate with terrorists. While
killing Osama bin Laden doesn’t bring the dead (and still dying) back,
it sent a powerful message that our country will not stand idly by
wringing our hands if we are attacked.

Osama was no different than a rabid dog except he committed his
crimes while being aware of the havoc, pain and suffering he caused.

God bless the SEAL team who rose to heroic levels during a complex
and dangerous mission. May we always honor those citizen soldiers who
step into the breach to do what is necessary.

Triplicate front page

Get home delivery of the Triplicate for only $7.94 a month. After filling out one simple and secure online form you could be on your way to learning more about your city, state and world than you ever have before.